Cyano nitrate explosive and process of producing the same



I Patented on. 2, 192

nnanx H. nnaenrm, or woonB nY, NEW Jan-say, AS$IGNOR won. I. no ron'r DE nniuonns & comranx, or wrnmmeron, DELAWARE, A oonrona'rron or DELA- WARE.

F CYANO mna'rn nxrnosxvn AND. rnocnss or rnonuome THE same.

No Drawing.

This invention relates to explosives containrng one or morecyano groups and.one or more nitrate groups. It relates particularl to explosives comprising a hydrocarbon whic v l has attached thereto wcyano groups and nitrate groups, and also relates to the process of producing said explosives. a I One object of the invention is to provide a new type of explosive of the above char- 10 'acter combining in part the explosive group-' ings of nitroglvcerine and hydrocyanic acid.

- to a hydrocarbon.-

A further object of the invention is toprovide a product which may be used alone or in combination with the usual dynamite g 'ingredients to make a dynamite of; good strength and great insensitivene'ss to me- .chanical shock. e e I The product cya'no methanol nitrate,

but by an expensive method involving t euse v of silver nitrate and potassium iodide, which is'impractical from the viewpoint of economy.

3 Accordingly, a still further object of my inrelatively inexpensive process for producing -this andother products. By the process of my invention, which has a wide application, a'c'yanohydrin is nitrated with mixedacid to give a cyano nitrate explojsive." The above mentioned explosive,

" cyano methanol nitrate, may thus be made by the nitratio'n Iof CNCH OH. j g Further'objects andadvanta es of'the in- 40 vention will appear from the ollowing des criptionand detailed examples of the inven- 'tion..

a Cyano nitrate explosives in which thecyano and nitrate groups are attached to the same carbon atom are acidic in character and relamethylene cyanohydrin,

. tively unstable; 1 have found that cyano nitrate explosives having the cyano and nigate groups enflditferent carbon atoms, in

vent-ion is to' provide a novel, practical and.

Application filed September 15, 1927. serial No. 219,817.

accordance with the present invention, as

for example cyano ethanol nitrate,

- CNCH CH ONO possess an unusually good stability; Another example of this type of explosive is that formed by the nitration of the cyanohydrin of glycerine,

ouonzofnonon on,

which gives cyano propanediol dinitrate,

ouomomonogon ono cyano-and nitrate groups each ondifl'erent carbonatoms may bemade in any desired way. I prefer, however, to make them by treating .cyanohydrins with mixed acid. One

The 'cyanol nitrate explosives having the example of the way in which my process may I be-c arried out is the following. 7

If the case of cytano ethanol nitrate, I may add one part by weight of cyano ethanol,

p prepared in anydesired way, to two and one- CNCH ONO has previously been "pre ared,

111g approximately 40% nitric acid and'60% all parts by-weight of mixed acid compris- 10" C. x 'The high solubility of the nitrated" product in the waste acid necessitates: drownjv 'mg' to obtain the explosive oil. This oil'may then be neutralized by washing with a weak- 1y alkaline solution such as a 5% solution of sodium carbonate. The product thus ,ob-

tained is a neutral, colorless oil of about the same viscosity as glycol dini'trate. It has been found to retain its neutrality over a period-of. several months storage. Analyzed for nitrate nitrogen by the nitrometer method, it gave a p value very near to the theoretical (12.07%).

This oil, while not quite as powerful as ethylene glycol dinitrate, has the desirable property of being-much less sensitive to mechanical shock than the latter.

Cyano ethanol nitrate may be used alonei as an explosive or incombination with the usual dynamite ingredients tomake ja dylflmite of-good strength and great insensitiveness to mechanical shock. It may used nitroglycerine with in a dynamite com rising nitroglycerine or its substitutes, as, or example, mixtures of tetranitro'diglycerlne,

nitro sugars, or nitroglycol. The ollowing composition may be cited as a specific example of a dynamite in which the new explosive typical example, the cy'ano nitrate explosives may be used for the manufacture of gelati- In addition'to. its use in non-gelatinous explosives, of which the above formula is a nous explosives in which case it is gelatinized with mtrocellulose. I

Furthermore, instead of the sodium nitrate, or in addition thereto, I may use various other oxidizing salts, as, for example,

ammonium nitrate, ammonium perchlorate or POtflSSlIlIIlllltlfl-t. Also, it will be understood that the various known carbonaceous the above compositions the proportions may vary widely as to each andall of the ingredients, accordin to the particular uses to which the explosive isto be applied.

- While I have described my invention in detail, it is to be understeod that many changes may be made in the examplesabove given without-departing from the invention as defined by tlga following claims.

I claim: V 1. An explosive compound containing a cyano groupand a nitrate group.

2. An explosive compound comprising an aliphatic ester containing a cyano group and a nitrate group.- f

3. An explosive compound comprising an aliphatic ester containing a cyano group and a nitrate group, said groups bein each attached to difierent carbon atoms t erein.

4. Asa new chemical compound, cyanoethanol-nitrate.

5. The, process which comprises producing a cyano nitrate by the nitration of a cyano alcohol. V

' 6. The process which com rises producing cyano ethanol nitrate by t -he nitration of cyano ethanol.

7. The process which comprises producing a cyano nitrate by,nitration of a cyano alcohol and washing'the separated product with an alkaline solution. 8. The process which comprises pioducing cyano ethanol nitrate by the mtration of cyano -ethanol-and washing the separated product -with an alkaline solution. a

' '9. The process which comprises producingcyano ethanol nitrate (by the nitration of i: ano ethanol with mix acid, and washing a t 1e separated product with an alkaline solu-l .tion.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

FRANK H. BERGEIM. 

